Chinese Parents

In the end, Chinese Parents is ultimately a tribute to, well, Chinese parents — their tremendous expectations on their children, the unconventional ways they express their form of tough love, and all the familiar eccentricities of Chinese parental love.

I’m absolutely recommending Chinese Parents. It’s fun. It’s tremendous fun, and while I was hoping for more room to experiment or completely mess a child up (sorry Dave, it was nothing personal), I still wanted – indeed, still want – to have another go. It’s funny, it’s accessible despite all its numbers and moving parts, and there aren’t many games that get me so animated about a 9-year-old’s school test results. The design is solid too.

Amid its gentle but affectionate satire of Chinese norms and customs, Chinese Parents is an accessible and engaging life sim that should resonate with just about anyone who's gone through childhood and adolescence. Even if you fail, you'll still have a good time.

Somewhere along the way, Chinese Parents really did get me to reflect.